Role of asymmetric environment on the dark mode excitation in metamaterial analogue of electromagnetically-induced transparency

Polarization-independent and angle-insensitive tunable electromagnetically induced transparency in terahertz metamaterials

A metamaterial with a polarization-independent and angle-insensitive electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like effect is theoretically investigated in the terahertz regime. The proposed metamaterial is composed of square rings and split isosceles triangle rings, which behave as bright elements and quasi-dark elements, respectively. An EIT-like phenomenon, which is caused by the destructive interference between different scattering paths via the bright and quasi-dark elements, is observed with a transparent window. This EIT mechanism is revealed with simulated field distributions as well as the analysis based on coupled-mode theory. Full wave simulations show that EIT-like phenomenon in the proposed metamaterial is independent of polarization and is robust to the angle of the incident light. This structure may have potential applications in terahertz detectors, sensors, and modulators.

An engineered CARS substrate with giant field enhancement in crisscross dimer nanostructure

We theoretically investigate the optical properties of a nanostructure consisting of the two identical and symmetrically arranged crisscrosses. A plasmonic Fano resonance is induced by a strong interplay between bright mode and dark modes, where the bright mode is due to electric dipole resonance while dark modes originate from the magnetic dipole induced by LC resonances. In this article, we find that the electric field "hotspots" corresponding to three different wavelengths can be positioned at the same spatial position, and its spectral tunability is achieved by changing geometric parameters. The crisscrosses system can be designed as a plasmonic substrate for enhancing Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) signal. This discovery provides a new method to achieve single molecule detection. At the same time, it also has many important applications for multi-photon imaging and other nonlinear optical processes, such as four-wave mixing and stimulated Raman scattering.

Localized terahertz electromagnetically-induced transparency-like phenomenon in a conductively coupled trimer metamolecule

We experimentally investigate the terahertz (THz) electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT)-like phenomenon in a metamolecule (MM) of three-body system. This system involves a couple of geometrically identical split-ring resonators (SRRs) in orthogonal layout conductively coupled by a cut-wire resonator. Such a three-body system exhibits two frequency response properties upon to the polarization of incident THz beam: One is the dark-bright-bright layout to the horizontally polarized THz beam, where there is no EIT-like effect; the other is bright-dark-dark layout to the vertically polarized THz beam, where an EIT-like effect is observable. The transparency window can be tuned from 0.71 THz to 0.74 THz by the displacement of cut-wire inside the trimer MM. A maximum of 7.5 ps group delay of THz wave is found at the transparent window of 0.74 THz. When the cut-wire moved to the mid-point of lateral-side of SRR, the EIT-like phenomenon disappears, this leads to a localized THz slow-light effect. The distribution of surface currents and electric energy reveals that the excited inductive-capacitive (LC) oscillation of bright-SRR dominates the high frequency side-mode, which is isolated to the displacement of cut-wire resonator. However, the low frequency side-mode originates from the constructive hybridization of LC resonance in dark-SRR coupled with a localized S-shaped dipole oscillator, which is tunable by the displacement of cut-wire. As a consequence, the group delay as well as the spectral configuration of transparency window can be manipulated by tuning one side-mode while fixing the other. Such an experimental finding reveal the EIT-like effect in a conductively coupled three-body system and manifests a novel approach to achieve tunable THz slow-light device.

Asymmetric excitation of surface plasmons by dark mode coupling

Control over surface plasmons (SPs) is essential in a variety of cutting-edge applications, such as highly integrated photonic signal processing systems, deep-subwavelength lasing, high-resolution imaging, and ultrasensitive biomedical detection. Recently, asymmetric excitation of SPs has attracted enormous interest. In free space, the analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in metamaterials has been widely investigated to uniquely manipulate the electromagnetic waves. In the near field, we show that the dark mode coupling mechanism of the classical EIT effect enables an exotic and straightforward excitation of SPs in a metasurface system. This leads to not only resonant excitation of asymmetric SPs but also controllable exotic SP focusing by the use of the Huygens-Fresnel principle. Our experimental findings manifest the potential of developing plasmonic metadevices with unique functionalities.

Full controlling of Fano resonances in metal-slit superlattice

Controlling of the lineshape of Fano resonance attracts much attention recently due to its wide capabilities for lasing, biosensing, slow-light applications and so on. However, the controllable Fano resonance always requires stringent alignment of complex symmetry-breaking structures and thus the manipulation could only be performed with limited degrees of freedom and narrow tuning range. Furthermore, there is no report so far on independent controlling of both the bright and dark modes in a single structure. Here, we semi-analytically show that the spectral position and linewidth of both the bright and dark modes can be tuned independently and/or simultaneously in a simple and symmetric metal-slit superlattice, and thus allowing for a free and continuous controlling of the lineshape of both the single and multiple Fano resonances. The independent controlling scheme is applicable for an extremely large electromagnetic spectrum range from optical to microwave frequencies, which is demonstrated by the numerical simulations with real metal and a microwave experiment. Our findings may provide convenient and flexible strategies for future tunable electromagnetic devices.

Combined theoretical analysis for plasmon-induced transparency in waveguide systems

We propose a novel combination of a radiation field model and the transfer matrix method (TMM) to demonstrate plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) in bright-dark mode waveguide structures. This radiation field model is more effective and convenient for describing direct coupling in bright-dark mode resonators, and is promoted to describe transmission spectra and scattering parameters quantitatively in infinite element structures by combining it with the TMM. We verify the correctness of this novel combined method through numerical simulation of the metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) waveguide side-coupled with typical bright-dark mode, H-shaped resonators; the large group index can be achieved in these periodic H-shaped resonators. These results may provide a guideline for the control of light in highly integrated optical circuits.

Ultrafast optical control of group delay of narrow-band terahertz waves

We experimentally demonstrate control over the group delay of narrow-band (quasi continuous wave) terahertz (THz) pulses with constant amplitude based on optical switching of a metasurface characteristic. The near-field coupling between resonant modes of a complementary split ring resonator pair and a rectangular slit show an electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) spectral shape in the reflection spectrum of a metasurface. This coupling induces group delay of a narrow-band THz pulse around the resonant frequency of the EIT-like spectrum. By irradiating the metasurface with an optical excitation pulse, the metasurface becomes mirror-like and thus the incident narrow-band THz pulse is reflected without a delay. Remarkably, if we select the appropriate excitation power, only the group delay of the narrow-band THz pulse can be switched while the amplitude is maintained before and after optical excitation.

Direct excitation of dark plasmonic resonances under visible light at normal incidence

Dark plasmon resonance modes are optical modes that have small scattering cross-sections and are thus difficult to excite directly by light at normal incidence. In this paper, we propose to excite quadrupolar and higher-order modes with normal incident light (in the visible regime) on a continuous plasmonic metallic surface covering a dielectric pillar array, hence resulting in narrow-band perfect absorption. Different from the general electromagnetic means of inducing dark modes, our dark modes are due to charge densities that are electrically induced by the standing-wave resonance of current on the thin metal sidewall of pillars. This new means of exciting dark modes can significantly improve the excitation efficiency and also provides an easy way to excite strong higher-order modes.

Dynamically tunable plasmonically induced transparency by planar hybrid metamaterial

We design and numerically analyze a dynamically tunable, plasmonically induced transparency (PIT) planar hybrid metamaterial (MM) in a near-infrared regime, which combines the near-field coupling effect into dynamic MM. The embedded position of tunable material in dynamic MM is optimized. Thermal-tunable VO(2) stripes are filled in the cut-out slots as components of a plasmonic system, which dramatically improve the dynamic modulation depth of the PIT. We also present a four-level plasmonic system to quantitatively analyze the dynamically tunable PIT device. This work may offer a further step in the design of the tunable PIT effect.

Visualizing the near-field coupling and interference of bonding and anti-bonding modes in infrared dimer nanoantennas

We directly visualize and identify the capacitive coupling of infrared dimer antennas in the near field by employing scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). The coupling is identified by (i) resolving the strongly enhanced nano-localized near fields in the antenna gap and by (ii) tracing the red shift of the dimer resonance when compared to the resonance of the single antenna constituents. Furthermore, by modifying the illumination geometry we break the symmetry, providing a means to excite both the bonding and the "dark" anti-bonding modes. By spectrally matching both modes, their interference yields an enhancement or suppression of the near fields at specific locations, which could be useful in nanoscale coherent control applications.

Strong bonding magnetic plasmon hybridizations in double split-ring resonators

The complex magnetic dipole plasmon couplings in double split-ring resonators are investigated. Two split peaks in the absorption spectrum of these coupled systems are observed, but even the shorter-wavelength resonance peak can be redshifted compared to the peaks of individual rings. The magnetic plasmon fields outside rings are found to play an important role in these strong couplings. Because of them, both bonding and antibonding plasmon hybridizations occur at each split peak. When bonding coupling effects are stronger than those of antibonding ones, this abnormal splitting behavior appears. When the coupling between rings becomes weaker, the splitting phenomenon tends to be normal.

Toroidal dipole response in a multifold double-ring metamaterial

The toroidal response is numerically investigated in a multifold double-ring metamaterials at the antibonding magnetic-dipole mode (i.e., antiparallel magnetic dipoles in one double-ring fold). This intriguing toroidal resonance in metamaterials is considered as a result of the magnetoelectric effect due to the broken balance of the electric near-field environment. We demonstrate that the toroidal dipole response in metamaterials can improve the quality factor of the resonance spectrum. In viewing of the design flexibility on the double-ring geometry, such toroidal metamaterials will offer advantages in application potentials of toroidal dipolar moment.

Transparency window for the absorptive dipole resonance in a symmetry-reduced grating structure

We demonstrate that a transparency window can be obtained within the absorptive dipole resonant regime, by slightly reducing the symmetric arrangement of a dipole-like bar grating covered by a waveguiding layer. The physical understanding is that, under the condition of reducing the grating symmetry, the lossy dipole plasmon resonance can be completely transferred into the waveguide mode in a way of destructive interference. In accompany with the tunable transparency window modulated by the symmetry-reduced displacement, an ultra high group index (slowing down the light) as well as a vortex distribution of the electromagnetic field is found.

Plasmonic-induced optical transparency in the near-infrared and visible range with double split nanoring cavity

Plasmonic-induced optical transparency with double split nanoring cavity is investigated with finite difference time domain method. The coupling between the bright third-order mode of split nanoring with one gap and the dark quadrupole mode of split nanoring with two gaps leads to plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency. The transparence window is easily modified to the near-infrared and visible range. Numerical results show a group index of 16 with transmission exceeding 0.76 is achieved for double split nanoring cavity. There is large cavity volume of double split nanoring, and the field enhancement inside the cavity is homogenous. Double split nanoring cavity could be a good platform for slow light and sensing applications.

Dark and bright localized surface plasmons in nanocrosses

A metallic nanocross geometry sustaining broad dipole and sharp higher order localized surface plasmon resonances is investigated. Spectral tunability is achieved by changing the cross arm length and the angle between the arms. The degree of rotational symmetry of the nanocross is varied by adding extra arms, changing the arm angle and shifting the arm intersection point. The particle's symmetry is shown to have a crucial influence on the plasmon coupling to incident radiation. Pronounced dipole, quadrupole, octupole and Fano resonances are observed in individual cross structures. Furthermore, the nanocross geometry proves to be a useful building block for coherently coupled plasmonic dimers and trimers where the reduced symmetry results in hybridized subradiant and superradiant modes and multiple Fano interferences. Finite difference time domain calculations of absorption and scattering cross-sections as well as charge density profiles are used to reveal the nature of the different plasmon modes. Experimental spectra for the discussed geometries support the calculations.

Optical properties of metamaterials based on asymmetric double-wire structures

We performed theoretical and experimental investigations of the magnetic properties of metamaterials based on asymmetric double-wire structures. Using the multipole model for the description of metamaterials, we investigated the influence of the geometrical asymmetry of the structure on the macroscopic effective parameters. The results show that the larger wire in the system dominates the dynamics of the structure and defines the orientation and the strength of the microscopic currents. As a result the magnetization of the structure can be significantly enhanced for certain asymmetric configurations of the double-wire structure.